Bihlioilu-quc: Bookcase of any size with either glazed or wire mesh doors, the mesh sometimes hacked with silk.

Hois de bout: Wood cut across the gram, the grain being user! in mar­quetry to depict strikingly naturalistic leafage or flowers.

Honheur-du-jour: Small lady’s desk with a superstructure, with either open shelves, small cuplxxirds. drawers, or a tambour front; in fashion c.

1770-1800.

Bronze dorc: Gilt-bronze Л technique of covering metal (especially bronze) furnishings агмі mounts with a layer of gold leaf, widespread in the eighteenth century. The term covers a wide range of quality from inferior alloys to ormolu (or-moulu) work, with gilding by the ex­pensive mercury process

Bronze verni (also referred to as bronze cn couleur)’ Brass or bronze, lacquered with a gold tinted lacquer to resemble gilding: used cm the ma­jority of mounts till the end of the I amis XV period, as a cheaper altern­ative to mercury gilding

Bronzicr: Makers o) bronze furnishings Two guilds were involved: the fondeurs. the casters and finishers; and the doreurs or ciselcurs – doreurs. the chasers and gilders.

Bureau bri. se: Variety of bureau Mazarin evolved by C »ole. with the lop divided into two along its length, the front half lifting while tire top front row of drawers (in fact made of false drawers) acts as a fall-front, reveal­ing a writing surface inside

Bureau Mazarin: Form of knee-hole writing bureau in fashion between 1680 and the In-ginning of the eighteenth century, from which both the bureau plat and the commode evolved Л flat-topped writing-desk with drawers on either side of a central recess with a door; generally on eight legs with stretchers; made to stand against the wall, so undocorated on thic back.

Bureau plat (also referred to as simply bureau): I-lat-topjK-d writing desk on legs; generally with three but sometimes more – drawers in the frieze.

( aibinet: Rectangular piece of furniture, usually on a stand, with numer­ous small drawers to contain papers or objects, and sometimes a fall- front or a door or doors enclosing the drawers. Out of lashton in France after 1700. it came back into fashion c. 1780 as a low cabinet without stand.

Caisson: Stand of a cartonnicr. often detached from the upper part, which is called a serre-papiers

(iartonnicr (also called serre-papiers I Filing cabinet with open shelves designed to contain leather or cardboard boxes; either standing on a bureau plat (called Ixnil de bureau’ in the eighteenth century) or free standing, supported by a low cupboard. when it was generally placed at one end of a Ixirean plat

C. hiffonnier: Tail piece of furniture, with many drawers fitting on top of each other, generally not very deep. When it has seven drawers, it is called a semainicr ( ascleur-doreur: See Bronzicr

Coffre:(‘hest. .1 piece of furniture that went generally out of fashion af­ter 1700. and was replaced by the commode

Coffre a bijoux: Jewel-cabinet of varying size. Under Louis XVI the most elaborate ones took the – form ol cabinets on starub.

< lolfret (or cassette): (aisket.

< ioifleu. se: See Table tie toilette.

(іошпккіе: (ihest of drawers Л piece of furniture that evolved from the Inirvau c. 1695. First used only in bedrooms to contain clothes, it was subsequently placed in private rooms and at the end of the eighteenth century began to be used in reception rooms without any functional jxir – pose

(ioinnuкіс a eneoignures: Chest of drawers with curved doors at the side*.

< iominodc і» la grccque: Rectangular chest of drawers with drawers in the middle and in the frieze, and doors on either side of the central drawers: invented by J.-F Ocbenc. 1760.

< iommode a I’anglaise: (Ihcxt of drawers with open shelves at the sides

Commode a brisure: Commode with three panels, the central one being hinged on one of tl*e side ones.

(iommodc a portes: (also called meuble a hauteur d’appui): I.<»w cuj>- Ixiard ol the same height and depth as a commode. generally with draw­ers inside

C aimmodc en console: (‘best of drawers with a single row of drawers, on tall legs.

( aimmode a la Rcgcncc: (‘host of drawers with two rows of drawers, on tall legs.

(’.01»mode en tombeau: (‘.hc-st of drawers with three rows of drawers, on short legs.

Console: Side table of any shajx’ to stand against the wall, undecorated on the l>ack and generally with a marble top. Sometimes called a con – solc-desserte’ when it has a marble shelf below matching the – marble top. It began to re]>1 ace the traditional giltwood consoles in reception rooms in the 1780s.

(irowned (’• poinyon: Small mark of varying size which corresponds to a tax levied from 1745 to 1719 on any alloy with copper. In theory it should lx – struck on every individual gilt-bronze mount

Kbenistc. Hbenistcrie: See Introduction, pp. 12 15 Ілтіїоіге: Standish fitter! with writing equipment (inkwells, sand – shakers. pens, knife anti |qx-r) and a writing surface It was intended for writing in a confined space, such as in a carriage or in Ixxl.

Lncoignure: Owner cuplxxird. generally low. with one or two doors, sometimes with ojx*n comer shelves on top.

Fondeur: S<-e Bronzier

(•aine: Pedestal supjxwting a piece of sculpture or a clock, generally ol square tapering shape. I wit also taking other forms

Garde-Meuhle Royal: Administration dealing with the furnishing <>l the F’rench royal palaces; it ojxrated from the Middle Ages onwards (iradiiuSet of shelves, sometimes closed with a tambour or a cuplx»ard. intended to stand on lop of a bureau plat or a table The term could alv> refer to the shelves that often surmounted an encoignure

Gucridon: Originally a tall candlestand with a tri|xxi base. made in pairs to go on either side of a table, and with decoration matching the table’s In the eighteenth century it Ix-came a low circular or oval table with three legs or a tri|xxl base.

I. ivre: The F’rench eighteenth-century currency There were 24 livres in one Louis d’or anti 20 sols or sous in one livre